Device for curing inner-tube splices



Sept. 1, 1925. 1,551,669

R. R. JONES DEVICE FOR CURING INNER'TUBE SPLICES Filed Sept. 20. 1924 I N V EN TOR. AOBERT- A. Jay/5.

' ATTORNEY.

Patented s t.1, 19

i In the manufacture of inner tubes, asheet JONES, orAxRoN, onro, assrenoa TO THE FIRESTONE TIRE. amass BEacomrANY, DRAKE-ON, on o, A CORPORATION or 0131120.

DEVICE on CURING INNER-TUBE srLIcns.

a ncationmea September 20, 1924. Serial No. 738,810.

fl loallaohom'itmay concern: 7 Y

Be it known that I, ROBERT Roms, a citizenofqthe United "States, residing at Akron, county of summitystate of Ohio,

. have invented certain new: and useful Imp vementsnin' LDBWC ILfQ fi rmgilnner- Tube Spl ces,

t which the :following' is a specification'.'--

5 1 'This' -invention' relates to devices forcuring the splices'of inner tubes of rubber"during thercourse of their manufacture. I

of rubber-is rolled {onto amandrel or pole,

thejtube thus formed is wrapped with material capable or sh'rinkingunder 'tliejacti on of steain and inserted in ajch'ambef in which it is submitted to the action of steam under pressure'until the rubber is vulcan'izedmAfter vulcanization, the wrapper"is/"removed devices of a known type whereby they may and. the tube stripped fromfthe. pole or.

mandrel, the tube being turned inside'out during this operation so that itv will be smooth on its outer surfacef The ends of the tube are then spliced together to form thexinner tube, the device of the invention being adapted for curing these splices.

a. The object of theinvention is to provide animproved construction for splice curing be readily and interchangeably connected to a supply of steam and a drain.

vHeretofore, great difiiculty has been ex perienced in -mounting the devices on the tube-curing rack for the reason that the steam and drain connections provided on the rack did not mate with the inlets and outletsin the Inandrels of: different splicers.

Accordingly theyservicesof a number of plumbers were required for considerable time whenever tubes of different sizes were to be cured for making the desired .changes of mandrels on the rack. The invention has for its purpose, therefore, the elimination of 7 this difficulty. I

The foregoing and other objects will become more apparent as the following de a sp icer in use,

7 about the splice on the mandrel.

Figure 2 is anenlarged plan showing the manner of connecting the splicer mandrel to the tube-curing rack, I i I 4 F igure'3 is a side elevation thereof, i Figure 4' is a section on line 4-4 of Fig; 2gand- Figure Fig. 2. a

5 is a section on line 55 ;iof-

Referring tothedrawings, 10 is arack sponding flange 17" on an adapter: member 18 -whioh is s'ecured as" by'jwclding 5 onto: a hollow f 'splicer mandrel 19, otherwise I of standard c onstruction *The adapter im'e'mbers 11 and 18' are adapted to be secured together as by bolts 20, 20 extending through aligned apertures 21, 21 respectively in flanges 16 and17. The adapter member 18 has passages 22, 22 therein adapted to estabhshcommumcationfrom the passages 15 to the chamber 23 of the mandrel 19. A

gasket 24 is preferably interposed between flanges 16 and 17. When an adapter is not in use a suitable closure platefnot shown) -may be bolted onto flange 16 to'prevent the escape of steam.

By the above described construction, it will be seen that all plumbing operations when mounting or changing splicer mandrels onthe fack are avoided. The attendant is required only to bolt the required mandrels onto the adapters 11 which remain permanently on the rack. Passages 15 are of such shape in section, that the location of passages 22 may vary considerably in different mandrels, vet communication will be established through them to the mandrel without making changes in the plumbing.

In use, the tube isformed with the splice on the mandrel as indicated in Figure 1. An envelope section 25 (Figure 1) containing an annular expansible bag is clamped Pressure is supplied the bag through a connection 26 and steam is suppliedv to the mandrel throughthe' adapter 11,- valves such as in-' dicated at 27 being used to control the circulation of steam therein.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended. claims.

What I claim is;

1. Apparatus for curing inner tube splices comprising a hollow mandrel, and connections for conducting a heated fluid into and draining it from the mandrel said connections including an adapter connected to supply and: drain pipes and formed. with passages having large outlets, said mandrel havin corres aondln but smaller inlet passages, a flange formed on the adapter and a corresponding flange formed on said mandrel, said flanges being bolted together so that the adapter passages and the mandrel passages will be substantially in align ment,;and a gasket interposed between the flanges. r c, V

2. Apparatus for curing inner tube splicescomprising a hollow mandrel, and connections for supplying a heated fluid to the interior of the mandrel, said connec tionsincluding'an adapter connected to a fiuid'sup'p'ly, a passage in the adapter having a large outlet for conducting the fluid, said mandrel being formed with a corresponding passage having a smaller inlet, a flange on: the adapterand a corresponding flange on the mandrel, the flanges being bolted together so that the passages will be in substantial alignment.

3.Apparatus for curing inner tube splices comprising a hollow mandrel having a small inlet passage formed therein, an adapter having a corresponding but larger passage therein for conducting a heated fluid to the mandrel, and means for securing the mandrel on the adapter with the passages in substantial alignment.

4. Apparatus for curing inner tube splices comprising a hollow mandrel provided with an inlet passage for conducting a fluid to the interior ofthe mandrel and a.

flange, an adapter provided with a fluid conducting passage larger than. the first passage and corresponding flange whereby the mandrel may be secured to. the adapter by means engaging the flanges s0.- astoplace the passages in communication with each other.

5. Apparatus for curing inner tube splites comprising a rack, an adapter on the rack adapted to conduct afluid, a sup ply pipe connected to the adapter, and a series of hollow mandrels, each adapted to besecured to the adapter said mandrels being adapted to receive the fluid from the adapter and being readily interchangeable on the adapter.

ROBERT E. J ONES. 

